Cooking apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a cooking apparatus having a pair of burners positioned near the periphery of the unit and a grill assembly extendable beyond the periphery for substantial centering over the burners, thereby combining the advantages of a compact stove for easy portability with the convenience of a large stove for cooking.

United States Patent 1 1 3,903,867

Vestergaard Sept. 9, 1975 [54] COOKNG APPARATUS FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 1 lnvenmrl Andres Vestergaard F0rIHi1|Dr- 1 |52.51x 8/1963(icrmuny .v 126/38 Kingston. NY. 12401 [22] Filed: Jan. 1974 Primarylimirlinerwillium F. O'Dcn Assllslum EJZIHIiHt'r-H2lf0id Joyce i PP N05433x30 Almrm'i'. Agent, or Firm lhcodorc E, Gulunthay 52 us. Cl A.l26/38; 126/216 [571 ABSTRACT [5]] Int. Cl. F241: 5/20 Disclowd is acooking apparatus having :1 pair of [58] Field of Sear h [26/38, 51 462|6 R burners positioned near the periphery of the unit and 126/44 33137 5; 99/446 11 grill assembly extend-able beyond the periphery forsubstantial centering over the burners. thcrchy cum- [561 Reierenceg Citd hining the advantages of u compact stove for easy por UNITED STATESPATENTS tzibilily with the convenience of a large stove for cook-2907316 10/195 Windust 126/) R 1130,71) 4/l964 Mayer ct ui. l26/37 B 10Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED SE? 9 W5 SIIEI 1 OF 2 IFIG.3

COOKING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to a cooking apparatus and more particularly to aportable stove which is collapsible to a small size for easy portabilityand expandable to a large size for cooking.

2. Description of the Prior Art Portable stoves are well known in theart, and have gained great popularity particularly with campers, hunters, fishermen, and other outdoorsmen. Generally. these stoves haveone, two, or three burners, the overall size of the unit beingdetermined by the number of burners. The burners and associated cookingsurfaces must be spaced at intervals sufficiently large to accom modatethe various pots, frying pans. etc. intended to be placed thereupon.Thus. the convenience of larger cooking surfaces and more burners isinevitably coupled with the disadvantage of decreased portabilitybecause of increased size. One prior art attempt at providing a solutionto this problem is a foldable two burner stove. This unit is hingedlyconnected along a line between the two burners, which are adjacentduring cooking. For transporting, the unit is folded bringing the twocooking surfaces face to face, forming a closed container. Although thistechnique improves portability in the sense of reducing the largestdimension (length), the overall volume of the two burner unit is notreduced for transportation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of thisinvention to provide an improved stove combining the advantages of alarge stove for cooking with highly compact portability.

It is another object to provide an improved stove with easycleanability, easy disassembly, and interchangeability of certain partsfor ease of reassembly.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improvedstove with extendable cooking surfaces without sacrificing safetyconsiderations.

In accordance with the invention, a pair of cooking surfaces, alsoreferred to as grill assemblies, are slidably attached to the supportingbase of the stove. A pair of burners, fixedly attached to the supportingbase, each have a burner stem portion passing through an elongated slotin the grill assembly. The elongated slot defines the freedom of motionof the grill assembly with respect to the burners. By unscrewing theburners, the grill assembly can be completely removed.

It is important here to note that the burners are fixedly positioned forsafety. The burners are adapted to utilize a gaseous fuel such aspropane gas or other volatile fuels converted to the gaseous state priorto igniting. In order to prevent leaks, a gas tight tubing usually ofarigid material such as copper is used to connect the source of fuel,such as compressed propane, to the burners. If the burners were attachedto the slidable grill, some type of less desirable flexible couplingarrangement would have to be utilized. In order to provide suitablespacing between cooking utensils such as pots, frying pans, etc, theburners must be spaced apart by a distance at least equal to the sum ofthe radii of the largest cooking utensils to be accommodated. It isconventional that the cooking surface should be large enough to supportthese pots substantially centered over the burners. These requirementshave determined the minimum dimensions of multiple burner stoves untilthe present invention of extending the cooking surfaces over theburners.

Further advantages of the present invention include a cover having oneextra long depending sidewall that is hingedly mounted near the bottomof the support base, This permits the cover to pivot away from thesupport base during cooking and provides increased portability byreduction ofthe width dimension. A wind screen is mounted in the coverand has depending tabs for insertion into slits in the grill assembly.Each grill assembly has several slits for interchangeability. Each grillassembly includes a grill and a drip pan, the grill being hingedlyattached for easy cleaning.

The above mentioned objects, features and advantages of my invention,together with others inherent in the same, are attained by the apparatusillustrated in the drawings, the same being merely preferred exemplaryforms. and are described more particularly as follows.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a top view of the cooking stove of thisinvention with the cover open and the grill assembly in its compactposition.

FIG. 2 is a top view with the grill assembly extended and the windscreen illustrated by phantom lines.

FIG. 3 is a front view with the grill assembly extended and one of thegrills hinged open. FIG. 3A is a front view of an alternate hingingarrangement for the grill.

FIG. 4 is atop view showing the internal connections.

FIG. 4A is a front view section taken along section line 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in general and first inparticular to FIG. I, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. I is a top view with the cover open but thegrill assembly remaining in its closed position. Support base 10 has abottom portion and upwardly extending sidewall portions forming thebottom half of the container for the cooking apparatus duringtransportation. Support base 10 also provides a support for the entireassembly both during transportation and during actual use in cooking.Burners l2 and 14 are positioned near the periphery of sup port base 10.The spacing between the burners is sufficiently large to permit the useof relatively large pots and pans. However, in the illustrated closedposition, there would be insufficient support for such pots and pansnear the edges of the support base.

In order to assure proper support for such pots, pans, and other desiredcooking utensils, slidable grill assemblies l6 and 18 are provided.Grill assembly 16 includes drip pan 16A and grill 16B. Grill assembly 18includes drip pan 18A and grill 18B. Grills 16B and 18B are usually madefrom chromeplated material while the remainder of the unit isconveniently a painted metal. In the two-burner configuration shown,each of the grill assemblies 16 and 18 have a first compactly collapsedposition within the area defined by support base 10 as illustrated inFIG. 1. In this first position, cover 20 is conveniently closableproviding compact transportability of the unit. After cover 20 has beenopened, the grill assemblies 16 and 18 are extendable to a secondposition beyond the area defined by support base 10 and substantiallycentered over the corresponding burners l2 and 14. This provides supportfor large cooking utensils placeable in a substantially centeredposition over the burners. In order to as sure that the size of suchcooking utensils is not limited by the position of cover 20, cover 20which includes a top surface and sidewall portions 20A includes oneelongated sidewall portion 208. This elongated sidewall portion 208 ishingedly attached to the bottom of support base 10 providing a longpivot arm and permitting cover 20 to be pivoted away from the supportbase and grill assemblies providing room for large cooking utensils inthe width dimension. Note that without the extra long sidewall portion208, the cover would be hinged near the top of the support base 10limiting the available space for cooking utensils. The particularhinging arrangement near the bottom of support base I is illustrated atreference numeral 20C.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the cooking apparatus is shown with the grillassemblies in their extended position. For ease of description, the samereference numerals previously utilized have been maintained in FIG. 2insofar as practical. The arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the direction inwhich the grills have freedom of motion. As illustrated in the preferredembodiment. support base has folded lip portions 11 defining a guide waywithin which the grill assemblies are slidable. Each of the grillassemblies also has a depending sidewall portion 13 illustrated indashed lines. In the open position of the grill assemblies, thisprevents sharp edges and also provides a small surface against which ahand can push with safety if it is desired to close the grill assembly.In the closed position, this depending sidewall portion is adjacent theupwardly extending sidewall portion of the support base.

As a salient feature of the present invention, each of the grillassemblies is extendable even though the support base and burners arefixedly positioned with respect to each other. In the preferredembodiment the freedom of motion of the grill assembly with respect tothe fixedly positioned burners is provided by an elongated slot such as16D provided in the drip pan portion 16A of the grill assembly 16.Elongated slot 18D illustrates the same structure for grill assembly 18.As will be described in greater detail, each of the burners isunscrewable from its support in the support base 10 permitting the grillassemblies to be completely removed by being slid out from support base10. Upon reinsertion of the grill assemblies into support base 10, theyare interchangable. This flexibility is permitted by the provision offour wind screen slits as illustrated by reference numerals 16C and 18C.These wind screen slits accept depending tap portions such asillustrated by reference numeral 223 from wind screen 22. Wind screen 22is mounted in the cover 22 being hingedly supported at points such as22A. In the closed position, the wind screen fits inside cover 20.

With reference to FIG. 3, there is illustrated that support base I0includes a bottom portion 10A with upwardly extending sidewall portions108 forming a container together with the cover for cooking apparatus.Note also that grill 188 shown in the open position is hingedlyconnected to drip pan 18A permitting easy cleaning of the drip pan andburners. Grill 168 is similarly hingedly mounted, although shown in theclosed position. It is readily recognized that the hinge mounting mayalternatively be placed near the center of the unit hinging the burnersopen towards the center, rather than the periphery of the unit, asillustrated in FIG. 3A.

With continued reference to the just described drawings, referparticularly to FIG. 4 showing further details of the cooking apparatusof this invention. Corresponding items have again been similarlynumbered insofar as practical. In order to connect the source of fuel tothe present cooking apparatus, means such as threaded screw connector 30is provided. A continuous rigid tubing 32 connects the fuel to theburners 12 and I4. In order to regulate the flow of fuel to burner 12,valve 34 being controlled by knob 34A is provided. Similarly, in orderto separately control the flow of fuel to burner 14, valve 36 operatedby knob 36A is provided. Each of the said valve means are connectedbetween the means for connecting the source of fuel 30 and each of theburners l2 and 14. Note also handle 38 provided for easy portability.

The burners l2 and 14 are rigidly mounted within the support base 10 asmore particularly illustrated with reference to FIG. 4A. FIG. 4A is across-sectional view along line 4A in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4A,burner 12 consists of burner head 12A and stem 12B.

The lower portion of stem 128 has a threaded portion 12C which isscrewed into support 12D. Support 12D may either be a metal portionwelded onto the bottom 10A of support base 10, or in the alternative,support 12B may actually be punched from the bottom portion 10A. At anyrate, support 12D provides a gas tight fitting with tubing 32, furtherpermitting a gas tight connection with burner I2 when it is screwed inat the threaded connection 12C. Burner 14 similarly consists of burnerhead 14A and stem 14B forming a similar gas tight connection at support14D.

What has then been described is a cooking apparatus having a pair ofburners positioned near the periphery of the unit and a grill assemblyextendable beyond the periphery for substantial centering over theburners, thereby combining the advantages of a compact stove for easyportability with the convenience of a large stove for cooking. Althougha two burner configuration has been described, it is readily apparentthat a third fixedly positioned burner could be positioned betweenburners l2 and 14. Although such a unit would be larger than thedisclosed two burner unit, the same advantages of relative compactnesswould be obtained by utilizing the concepts of this invention. It istherefore apparent that those skilled in the art will recognize thatvarious other changes in structure and mode of operation may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

I. A cooking apparatus comprising:

a support base;

at least one of a plurality of burners positioned near an edge of saidsupport base; and

an extendable grill assembly having at least two posi tions, in a firstposition being compactly collapsed within an area defined by saidsupport base, in a second position being extended beyond the areadefined by said support base and substantially over said at least one ofa plurality of burners; wherein said at least one burner includes burnerhead and burner stern portions attached to said support base, passingthrough an opening in said grill as- SCITlhl). said extendable grillassembly being slid abl attached to said support base.

2. Apparatus as in claim I wherein the opening in said extendable grillassembly includes an elongated siot oriented substantially parallel withthe slid-able attachment to said support base. said burner stem passingthrough said elongated slot which thereby defines the first and secondpositions of said extendable grill assembly.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said burners are removably attachedto said support base such that when said burners are unscrewed then saidgrill assembly is completely removable from said support base.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 having at least two extendable grillassemblies. said assemblies being interchangeable.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said support base includes a bottomportion and upwardly extending sidewall portions, further comprising:

a cover for substantially covering said cooking apparatus when saidgrill assembly is in its first position. said cover having a topportion, depending sidewalls. one of said depending sidewalls extendingto the bottom portion of said support base and hingedly attachedthereto, thereby pivoting said cover away from said support base.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5 further comprising:

a pair of wind screens hingedly mounted in said cover and having adepending tab for insertion in a corresponding slit in said grillassembly.

7. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said burners are adapted to burngaseous fuel, further comprising:

rigid gas tight tubing connected to said burners; means for connecting asource of fuel to said tubing;

and

valve means for regulating the flow of fuel in said tubing. connectedbetween said means for connecting a source of fuel and each saidburners.

8. A cooking apparatus comprising a support base;

at least one of a plurality of burners positioned near an edge of saidsupport base: and

an cxtendable grill assembly having at least two positions, in a firstposition being compactly collapsed within an area defined by saidsupport base. in a second position being extended beyond the areadefined by said support base and substantially over said at least one ofa plurality of burners;

said at least one burner including burner head and burner stem portionsattached to said support base, said extendable grill assembly beingslidably attached to said support base;

wherein said cxtendable grill assembly includes a grill and a drip pan.

9. Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said grill is hingeably attached tosaid drip pan.

10. A cooking apparatus comprising:

a support base;

a pair of burners each fixedly positioned with respect to said supportbase near an edge of the support base; and

a pair of extendable grill assemblies each associated with one of saidpair of burners, each said pair of extendable grill assemblies beingmovable with re' spect to said fixedly positioned pair of burners andhaving at least two positions. in a first position being compactlycollapsed in an area substantially defined by said support base, in asecond position being extended beyond the area defined by said supportbase, substantially over its associated burner.

1. A cooking apparatus comprising: a support base; at least one of aplurality of burners positioned near an edge of said support base; andan extendable grill assembly having at least two positions, in a firstposition being compactly collapsed within an area defined by saidsupport base, in a second position being extended beyond the areadefined by said support base and substantially over said at least one ofa plurality of burners; wherein said at least one burner includes burnerhead and burner stem portions attached to said support base, passingthrough an opening in said grill assembly, said extendable grillassembly being slidably attached to said support base.
 2. Apparatus asin claim 1 wherein the opening in said extendable grill assemblyincludes an elongated slot oriented substantially parallel with theslidable attachment to said support base, said burner stem passingthrough said elongated slot which thereby defines the first and secondpositions of said extendable grill assembly.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 2wherein said burners are removably attached to said support base suchthat when said burners are unscrewed then said grill assembly iscompletely removable from said support base.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 3having at least two extendable grill assemblies, said assemblies beinginterchangeable.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said support baseincludes a bottom portion and upwardly extending sidewall portions,further comprising: a cover for substantially covering said cookingapparatus when said grill assembly is in its first position, said coverhaving a top portion, depending sidewalls, one of said dependingsidewalls extending to the bottom portion of said support base andhingedly attached thereto, thereby pivoting said cover away from saidsupport base.
 6. Apparatus as in claim 5 further comprising: a pair ofwind screens hingedly mounted in said cover and having a depending tabfor insertion in a corresponding slit in said grill assembly. 7.Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said burners are adapted to burn gaseousfuel, further comprising: rigid gas tight tubing connected to saidburners; means for connecting a source of fuel to said tubing; anD valvemeans for regulating the flow of fuel in said tubing, connected betweensaid means for connecting a source of fuel and each said burners.
 8. Acooking apparatus comprising: a support base; at least one of aplurality of burners positioned near an edge of said support base; andan extendable grill assembly having at least two positions, in a firstposition being compactly collapsed within an area defined by saidsupport base, in a second position being extended beyond the areadefined by said support base and substantially over said at least one ofa plurality of burners; said at least one burner including burner headand burner stem portions attached to said support base, said extendablegrill assembly being slidably attached to said support base; whereinsaid extendable grill assembly includes a grill and a drip pan. 9.Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said grill is hingeably attached to saiddrip pan.
 10. A cooking apparatus comprising: a support base; a pair ofburners each fixedly positioned with respect to said support base nearan edge of the support base; and a pair of extendable grill assemblieseach associated with one of said pair of burners, each said pair ofextendable grill assemblies being movable with respect to said fixedlypositioned pair of burners and having at least two positions, in a firstposition being compactly collapsed in an area substantially defined bysaid support base, in a second position being extended beyond the areadefined by said support base, substantially over its associated burner.